Hirota, Yuumi & Futakuchi, Daigaku

— It’s a moonlit night… That’s why I went out… Like a nocturnal, catlike animal… —
We’re in the backyard of a hospital that only treats terminally ill patients. In the moonlight, a woman stands under a parasol. In a basket, tea for two: who could it be for? A man appears and drinks the tea without removing his gloves. A cat cries. A bird flies past. In the distance, the last northbound train rushes past. As you listen to the quiet dialogue in this two-hander, you are led to a rather strange place. The Kyoto-based actors Yumi Hirota and Daigaku Futakuchi perform this play by Minoru Betsuyaku, Japan’s foremost exponent of the Theatre of the Absurd, at UrBANGUILD in Kiyamachi, Kyoto.